Deer Valley Airport '09 air traffic took off

by Betty Reid - Mar. 4, 2010 12:00 AMArizona Business Gazette

Airline traffic at Phoenix Deer Valley Airport didn't slow down last year despite the economic recession.

The general-aviation airport, 705 W. Deer Valley Road, gained 6.8 percent in takeoffs and landings, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The airport had 402,335 takeoffs and landings in 2009, up from 376,634 in 2008.

The federal agency counts air traffic by landings and takeoffs on the runway and includes single and multi-engines, turboprops, helicopters and business jets. It includes movie star John Travolta's Boeing 707, which was parked at the airport and created a buzz last year.

"We are ranked No. 1 for the busiest general-aviation airport in the country," said Gary Mascaro, Deer Valley Airport manager, who attributed the increase in business in part to flight schools.

The Valley's general airport outperformed its longtime competitor, San Fernando Valley-based Van Nuys Airport, which had comparable landings and takeoffs.

That airport in California averaged more than 400,000 landings and takeoffs in 2005, when it clinched the world's busiest general-aviation airport title.

The FAA's updated numbers for Van Nuys Airport shows 9 percent fewer airplanes landed and took off in 2009; or about 351,233 airplanes landed or took off, down from 386,706 in 2008.

The Deer Valley Airport is on 914 acres and is home to a fueling station, avionics repair, aircraft rentals, new and used aircraft sales, a pilot shop, a restaurant, charter flights and two flight-training schools, one at Westwind School of Aeronautics and TransPac Aviation Academy.

Mari Hueneke, TransPac's director of marketing, said the flight school opened to international students in early 2008. About 400 students, mostly from China, are training to be pilots, she said.

They are university students who are already hired, and TransPac is training them, Hueneke said.

"Each of our students flies five times a week," she said. "That is a great number of flights every week."

Westwind School reached out to a global market, said Bill Smathers, Westwind School of Aeronautics' director. The school shifted its focus to international students in March, he said. The school is training 35 Korean students and 25 from Mexico.